Thanks mate. I love 5x5 ... mine is really 3x5 but I guess it's the same concept..

This week I'm doing things a bit differently. I'm going to be doing more olympic lifting later in the week because I really love it

Today I went back and used the chest press machine to see how much more I could push compared to when I started a few months ago.. about 30 kg more for 3 x 5. I don't normally use machines but it was fun anyway..

This was my first real go at barbell bench press, and felt easy, even with my forearms being a little tired from helping to hold the bar for my squats. I guess using dumbbells has helped to increase strength. I'm going to continue with barbell for now though.. I like it!